by Tom Gurney
Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on August 16, 2026
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000
A Dutch Renaissance painter and printmaker, Pieter Bruegel the Elder came from a long line of artists. He was well-known for his landscapes and peasant scenes which earned him the nickname of 'Peasant Bruegel'.
His painting, Fall of the Rebel Angels (1562) shows a departure from what was known as 'genre painting' but continues Bruegel's similarly common theme of 'good versus evil'.
The subject of this artwork is a biblical scene, taken from the Book of Revelation (12: 3-9), which was frequently depicted from the Middle Ages onwards.
The painting shows angels led by the central figure of the Archangel Michael, clad in gold armour, beating back the rebel angels from heaven.
The dragon upon which he stands may well represent the seven-headed dragon described in Revelation 12:3. The insurgents fall from the light upper-half of the painting, depicting heaven, down into the dark depths of hell, represented by the lower section.
This work clearly shows the influence on Bruegel of the artist Hieronymus Bosch who was also famous for his works on religious themes, for complex compositions and for depicting sinful characters as grotesque monsters.
Many of these monsters representing sin have an unsettling combination of human-like features as well as those recognisable as animals and Bruegel may well have been influenced by New World discoveries at this time.
Another work by Bruegel displaying a similar theme and dimensions to Fall of the Rebel Angels is Triumph of Death. Painted in the same year, it is a work which also explores themes of war, religion and mortality.
Fall of the Rebel Angels is currently held by and on display at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels.
Discussion
What feels most revealing about Pieter Bruegel the Elder: the village detail, the landscape setting, the moral wit, or the way everyday life becomes a complete world?
Reader Insights
Begin with one small action in a Bruegel scene, then follow how it connects to the surrounding figures, setting and rhythm of the whole image.
Connect the work to Northern Renaissance visual culture, printmaking, proverb traditions and Bruegel's interest in rural and urban life.
Which detail changes the interpretation most once you know the subject, date, proverb source or present collection?
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